Focus on Agriculture

MONTEREY COUNTY — Scheid Family Wines Vice President of Winemaking Dave Nagengast has announced his retirement after 20 years with the Monterey County-based wine company. Nagengast was the creative and organizational mastermind behind the company’s portfolio of wines, an early adopter of sustainable farming and...

KING CITY — An FFA caravan hit Broadway Street last Wednesday as part of the FFA Week lineup for the Future Farmers of America at King City High School. The caravan had 35 vehicles, including diesel trucks from L.A. Hearne and Bassetti Farms, which blew...

GREENFIELD — South Monterey County’s first marijuana dispensary has opened for business in Greenfield, selling recreational cannabis products in the area. Higher Level, a locally owned cannabis retailer with operations in Seaside and Hollister, opened its third location in Greenfield earlier this month. A grand...

In celebration of National Salad Month and in recognition of the great agriculture bounty of the Central Coast, the California Welcome Center Salinas and the Soledad Visitors and Gateway Center will be giving out free samples of fruits and vegetables.

SALINAS VALLEY — Nearly 400 people with a professional stake in the safety of fresh fruits and vegetables consumed worldwide gathered at Hartnell College on May 4-5 for the 17th Annual Western Food Safety Conference. The conference, held on Hartnell’s Main Campus in Salinas as...

SALINAS VALLEY — After two years of lower levels of impatiens necrotic spot virus in the Salinas Valley, researchers have recorded a higher number of cases during the 2025 season, though they say INSV did not reach the widespread levels seen in 2022, when...

MONTEREY COUNTY — This year’s onslaught of winter storms have cumulatively impacted a total of 20,073 acres and created $600 million of damage to the Monterey County agricultural industry.  On Friday, the County of Monterey Agricultural Commissioner’s Office released the results of a second survey...

MONTEREY COUNTY — The 2022 Monterey County Fair Junior Livestock Auction is being dedicated to Taylor Farms, the Salinas-based grower and packager of fresh produce that has supported the Fair’s 4-H and FFA exhibitors for more than 20 years by purchasing animals at the...

South County organic farmer Israel Morales Sr. of JV Farms Organic in Soledad will receive the Organic Farmer of the Year Award at the Organic Trade Association’s Leadership Awards set for Sept. 11 at the Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore, Md.